The Holiday Gift That Literally Inspired Me to Reach for the Stars

Back in 1977, I was an earnest, slightly goofy kid obsessed with outer space. My love affair with all things cosmos had been brewing for several years, sparked by the clay model of the solar system I made for a third grade science project back when Pluto was still part of the club. I loved visiting our local planetarium in Columbia, South Carolina. The original Star Wars movie came out that summer, and it blew my mind. When people asked what I planned to do when I grew up, my 11-year-old self proudly proclaimed, “a space engineer,” which would somehow involve designing groovy rocket ships and then being the astronaut to pilot them.

— Published on December 3, 2018
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